Currently Reading...

I have two books that I am working on- The Secret Life of Bees and Animal Farm. I am actually really surprised that I havent read animal farm yet with as much reading as I do, but I just have never picked it up! So far its been a pretty fast read. I started it at the gym yesterday when I was on the elliptical and went through the first part of it pretty quickly.

I am considering teaching The Secret Life of Bees to my 9th graders after they finish up their unit on Anthem, but I actually have to read it first before I make that decision :) I started this the other night before bed and didnt even get out of the first chapter because I was so tired that I fell asleep, but that is no indication of the worth of the book! I know that there is a movie based on this book, has anyone seen it? Is it any good?

Stay tuned for updates when I finish these books! I am also working on a post about other books that I have read lately, but it will be a few days before that one is up!

What are you reading lately?

Waiting For Superman

I just finished the book "Waiting for Superman" that was based off of the movie that recently came out. Before I begin my review, I want to emphasize that I have not seen the movie, which I hear has gotten a lot of negative reviews from the educational community. The book has also gotten its fair share of negative criticism, but I think the criticism is largely coming from people who have seen the movie. I think most educators believe that the filmmaker was putting an unfair amount of blame on teachers and teacher's unions for where our educational system is today. I just want to say that the following review is *my* opinion as a teacher in training, and I have a right to have this opinion!

I really enjoyed the book. The book was a collection of essays written by people on different topics of education and how they believe that we can help the current state of our school system. Let's face it, our schools are in serious trouble. I think that the book brought up some very valid points, and I dont really feel that it puts too much blame on teachers and teacher's unions. The book pointed out many reasons why our school system is currently failing our children, and bad teachers are only part of the problem. The book was careful to point out that not all teachers are bad teachers, and that the majority of teachers out there are very hardworking and committed individuals. With that being said, we also have a stigma in this country that "if you can't do, teach" and there are people who are in our classrooms who don't belong there. One of the major problems that the book pointed out is the stigma attached to being a teacher, that the position of teacher is not held with respect in our country and that is a major problem. People who are out in the "real world" think that teaching is a joke of a career and the current salaries for our teachers proves that. I think the prevailing message of the book was that we shouldn't be sitting around waiting for some miracle of a cure for our school systems because there are students right now in our schools that need our attention and best efforts to educate them. There will never be one set miracle cure for our schools, so we shouldn't wait around for one~ I could go on a soapbox rant of all of the points that I agreed with in this book, but I will spare you for the time being. No, I didnt agree with everything in this book, but I still was interested in the different arguments it did raise. I will leave you with a recommendation to read it and encourage you to see for yourself how you feel about the issues raised in the book.

Sundays At Tiffany's

Yesterday morning I had finished Eat Pray Love, and was waiting for my books that I had ordered from Amazaon (The Insulin Resistance Diet, Women Food God) and I needed something to read. I had to go to the car shop and have two tires replaced and there was no way that I was waiting an hour and a half with nothing to do! My Aunt had recently given me several of her old novels, as she is trying to clear out the clutter and make room for the baby, and this book Sundays At Tiffany's was among them.

Now I will willfully admit that the plot line sounds extremely cheesy, this I cannot deny. It starts with a little girl who has an imaginary friend to help her through her childhood difficulties (absentee father, mother who is more preoccupied with her own love life and career, etc). This imaginary friend must leave her once she turns nine, but she isn't supposed to remember anything about him. She does in fact remember this imaginary friend, grows up and writes a broadway show about it. When she is in her thirties, she runs into this imaginary friend (who has now become real) and they fall in love.... and they all live happily ever after.

If you are into the fantastical, love story type of situation, this book is definitely for you. As for me, I prefer a more realistic love story... but then again, what love story really is realistic? How often do those Nicholas Sparks romances actually happen? I will admit, however, that this book was certainly a page turner. James Patterson does have a way with words and it was a very light and easy read. I do think the situation with Micheal- his job, how it works, and how he ended up becoming human- could have used a little more development. I understand that they are trying to keep the mysterious side of it going, but I just felt like I needed a little bit more. I also think the relationship between Jane and her mother needed more development; there was enough about why it was such a strained relationship, but there was really never any information why Jane was so eager to please her mother and how her and her mother could have had the resolution they did at the end of the book. Just a few thoughts...

Eat Pray Love

After four days of devouring this book, one page at a time, my most recently conquered novel is Eat.Pray.Love. This book was absolutely amazing and echoed something that I have always had the romantic notion of doing, dropping everything and just traveling. Granted, Elizabeth Gilbert's traveling was more purposeful than mine would ever be.

She had three places she wanted to visit: Italy, India, and Indonesia (the three I's). In each place, she had a mission (so-to-speak) that she wished to accomplish. In Italy, she wanted to pursue pleasure- in India, she pursued devotion- and in Indonesia, she pursued the balance between the two. Throughout her journey, Liz Gilbert was also trying to get over her own battle with depression, self doubt, and loneliness all sprouting from a failed marriage and an additional failed relationship. Gilbert's trip was one of recovery, one of discovering herself, and one of finding happiness within herself again.

My only question that was sort of unresolved at the end, and I could have totally missed it, was at the beginning of her stay in Indonesia, Liz found out that she was only allowed to stay for a month, and she ended up staying her whole visit. How was this whole thing resolved?

This novel was a truly inspirational read and I cannot wait for the movie to come out this weekend to see how they translated this novel full of inner dialogue and personal thoughts into an on-screen production.

Go. Read it!

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

I just finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter, and I must say that this is one amazing book. It was absolutely compelling and I tore through it between last night and this morning. Seriously, the TV hasn't been on and I have been planted in my Grandpa's chair reading practically straight through as I devoured this story.

The story opens up with a loving portrayal of a kind, handsome doctor, David Henry, and his incredibly pregnant wife, Norah. One night, in a huge snow storm, Norah goes into labor and Dr. Henry is forced to help his wife through her delivery. What no one expected was the second child, the one born with Down's Syndrome. The Dr. Henry makes the decision to send the child to a home with his attending nurse. This decision is the pivotal point in all of the character's lives. David tells Norah that their second child was born dead. Caroline Gill decides that this home is no place for a child and disappears with the child who is assumed dead to raise her as Caroline's own. The novel revolves around this decision and the influence that quick decision had on all of their lives. This one moment, this one choice, and the incalculable amount of consequences that are a result....

This book is certainly different than the idea that I had when I began the novel. I had head of this novel when I was a senior in high school and I have been interested in reading it ever since, not really knowing the premise of the story, but knowing that it came highly recommended. I would continue that recommendation and tell anyone that it is well worth the read.

Reading List

So now that I have finished reading Angela's Ashes, I thought that it was only fitting for me to create a reading list of books I would like to tackle :)

* The Memory Keeper's Daughter- Kim Edwards

* The Glass Castle- Jeannette Walls

* Eat. Pray. Love. - Elizabeth Gilbert

* Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher

* Outliers- Malcolm Gladwell

* Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffenegger

* Same Kind of Different As Me- Ron Hall and Denver Moore

* The Other Hand (aka Little Bee here in the States)- Chris Cleave... I started this book when I got it in England last summer and haven't finished it yet, I would like to.

I am sure there are more to add to this list (such as the incredibly long list of books that I will need to read for the fall semester) but I think this is a good start. Oh how I love reading and oh how I LOVE that I have started to do it for pleasure again :)

Angela's Ashes

I just finished reading Angela's Ashes after about a month and a half of reading it. Wow. This book was depressing! I could only take this book in small doses because of how completely heart wrenching it was. In the first two chapters, three characters die! The entire memoir recounts author Frank McCourt's haunting childhood that is filled with hunger, depression, and poverty. In the memoir, McCourt recounts the hardships that his family endured during his childhood- his father's alcoholism, several deaths, sickness, and the like. It was a truly a good read, one that I was compelled to complete even after a few weeks hiatus due to grad school course work. I would definitely recommend this book to read (hello Pulitzer Prize winner!), but only if you are prepared for the sadness this memoir entails.

I am actually considering reading the sequel- 'Tis which is McCourt's account of his life once he returns to New York!